Baking Spree – Cakes & Breads

Soft Sponge Cake

My favorite sponge cake – perfect for evening tea time and I bake this frequently (sometimes go overboard with nuts)

A slice of cake

There, a slice of the tea cake This time, left it slightly crusty and it tasted yum!!

Choco Chip Muffins

Same batter, added some choco chips I had, and tuned them into choco chips muffins.

Butter Garlic Bread Rolls

This was the highlight – Butter Garlic Bread Rolls. It turned out to be super soft and delicious Thanks to Suhaina, for her recipe turned out to be a bliss. Guys, try this if you love garlic rolls. Bread making is slightly time consuming but worth the effort.

Leaving you with ideas to bake over this weekend. Try it, it’s so much fun!

Happy Weekend!

Luscious & Lip-Smacking Chocolate Brownie Cake

This was the special cake, I made for my brother’s birthday last week. Wanted to post earlier, but missed it. Thanks to Kalyan for posting the recipe The only modification was that… I smeared it with icing and decorated it with some chocolate chips and chocolate rice. Also, this was my first attempt in making a chocolate cake with icing. It truly turned out to be a nutty, chocolaty and delicious cake…! Oh, and my brother…he couldn’t believe it until I claimed

Cake Bake…Muffins & Breads

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O’er this weekend, there was lots of baking, cooking and fun. How was yours?

Some home made Coffee & Sandwiches???

Whipping and whipping the coffee and sugar…until it’s smooth and frothy!

And then goes the boiled water & milk into it…Looks rich and creamy. Isn’t?

Some home-made quick sandwiches to go with the coffee and yes the ketchup too…

And… this is how an evening was enjoyed with hot Coffee and sandwiches!!

Want to have some???? Come over

Series of events…

that has kept me occupied since last week! Plays, get-togethers, Children’s day competition at our NGO, Cooking…etc!

Alyque Padamsee & Sabira Merchant after their brilliant performance in “The Game“. The act was absolutely flawless.

Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak, Benjamin Gilani, Akash Khurana & others in “Antigone” – A Greek tragic play. It was my life’s best experience to watch such legendary actors perform live on stage. Naseer was marvellous, so natural.

Children’s Day at Safa(www.safaindia.org). All hidden talents were discovered during this drawing competetion. (Look at their winning smile …They all were fabulous and so creative!

Made some kachoris stuffed with green peas, Alu dum, Daal fry and kheer with nuts and jaggery for dinner.

And, further…am off to Jaipur for a Dance & Music festival o’er this weekend!!

Today’s Dinner

Achaari Murg (Chicken Curry with pickle spice)

Actually last evening I was just browsing a few food blogs, I found them so enticing that I made a promise to myself…which is “ I shall try making a new dish every day”  Thanks to ecurry for her recipe today. It turned out to be super delicious! . Served with parantha, butter rice and crunchy floral salad.

May you all have a great week ahead

Ghar ka khana!

Interestingly our taste-buds crave for an array of food each time. Sometimes spicy, sometimes sweet, sometimes plain simple food, sometimes no food at all may be. Most of the times, if dining outside I get tempted to try on different cuisines just for the sake of experimenting & experiencing (of course to kill my appetite too), when I realise some taste scrumptious and some don’t.                                

My food habits are pathetic, I hardly eat my breakfast. If breakfast means having a mug of tea, then I follow it ritually with a buttered toast (now I am bored of this too). Lunch is usually a Sub. I prefer Sub not for any Size Zero fad but my work gets really hectic and eating a heavy lunch makes me feel drowsy and makes it difficult to sit through the remaining hours post lunch.  Though some days, team lunch / lunch with friends becomes an indulgent. Dinner I skip if I have had a heavy lunch or may be chapatti/rice with some curry. 

What I long for is a nice weekend home cooked lunch, which I try and make it lavish yet simple. Nothing tops my list than home cooked food. So here I went to hand-pick some fresh looking luscious veggies from bazaar. (Not the super markets as I feel they are not the farm fresh ones). 

Today’s lunch was made of raw jackfruit and potato curry (one of my favourites), lady’s finger cooked with shallots in a poppy seed paste, some daal to go with rice & fresh cucumber salad and green chillies.

Dessert…? It was chilled Lassi (A drink made of sugar & yoghurt) topped with cream to beat the heat!

Art of baking breads!

Well, yes one of my desires to learn baking breads and cakes turned out to be truly delicious last week! I apparently found one institute that teaches reasonably well …the art of making fine breads, cakes, croissants etc. It’s an art I say that involves patience, interest, creativity besides a passion to eat and treat.

It was my first class, & I learnt to bake breads with the help of my chef` after much kneading & punching ! Aroma was so much delectable…while it was baking hot in the oven…it’s almost inexplicable in words, you have to just experience it!!

Delicately gave it different shapes. Some into buns, knotted breads, dinner rolls, tutty frutty buns etc

Unbelievable isn’t? Yes, I baked them :) ! Fresh out of oven and when buttered, it just melts into your mouth!!

Here’s wishing you all a great weekend ahead!

 

Event – Served with Love!

As I have always said and that’s what I strongly believe, cooking to me is therapeutic! The joy one can derive by cooking for the loved ones is inexplicable in words. I enjoy it to the core. I have not yet gained expertise in most of the cuisines… however; I can claim that whatever I cook or have cooked so far has always been with love & passion and that’s why i guess Mom’s khana always rocks as they somehow manage to add that extra element of love leaving the meals lip smacking  

I have been following Arundhuti’s blog for quite some time now, and I could not help but participate in one of her Events(Refer the link for more details)  that she declared sometime ago. The event says that this January prepare a dish that is most favourite with the person we love! It can be ANYone…parents, siblings, friends, husbands, kids, cousins …anybody we love to cook for!

Here’s what I made for my brother this month – “Gajar ka halwa” !! He simply loves it so much so that even a huge helping is always less and he wants to devour more of it. Carrots are best available during this season & i thought why not a dessert which is so famous in India!! 

An American writer quoted : “Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.”

Season’s Greetings!

Christmas is celebrated worldwide irrespective of caste, creed or religion. Perhaps it has to do with all the festivity & joy it brings along, isn’t? Long ago, I had bought this christmas tree & this evening just tried & decorated it with bells, stars, candies, confettis etc. It was so much fun…for all of us at home

Christmas without goodies is not done so baked cookies, cakes, made some nutty chocolates(they turned out unbelievably yummm ), & soft ‘n fluffy pancakes

Here’s wishing you all a very very HAPPY CHRISTMAS & a fantabulous year ahead!

God Bless!

Cooking Spree …

Working during the week leaves me with no stamina to get into the kitchen and cook; hence, over the weekends I make it a point to cook something really special. I plan for an entire day & therefore balance it out with a light breakfast or heavy lunch/dinner or vice-versa…! I could not have digested the meal without taking the pics to share with you all so here it is…

Breakfast was buttered toast with scrambled eggs and tea

Dinner was egg-mughlai parantha served with  aloo curry and chips

This was an exception, for some reason I had to cook the dinner during a weekday and am posting the pic now . Had made chicken curry and peas & rice in a jiffy ….

Now this was the FOOD of the day it turned out to be super delicious …..A rich chocolate cake . Come on, now don’t be mean and leave your comments for all my hard work

It was sunnyday today :)

  

 Stuffed samosas…. with evening chai

  

Chingri macher malai curry(A bengali delicacy – Prawns cooked in a rich and creamy coconut milk). Goes very well with steamed rice

Sometimes prayers do get answered

Until wednesday evening I was like..Oh God phllllz..how good it would have been if the Ganesh immersion ceremony was observed on a Friday(4th Sep) instead of Thursday(3rd Sep), this way it would mark a loooong loooong happpppy weekend. Little did I know that this would result to a major tragedy in the form of our honorable CM’s death in a chopper-crash followed by state-wide bandh on Friday..and obviously me earning  4 days holiday…eventually! Life outside home was jeopardised for obvious reasons..!

During these days however, I have learnt and mastered the art of making perfect..fluffy honey pancakes served with maple syrup and blueberries!!! It was yummmm I think I went crazy and overboard so was passionately pursuing my culinary skills during this inevitably…. wretchedly desired holiday & ended up cooking some almond firni, mutton kolhapuri(sanjeev kapoor style), and panch mishali(a bengali vegetarian dish) :p!! Tomorrow ..the last day am planning to make roshogullas and samosas

ooops while publishing i realised it’s already sunday!!

What’s Cookin’?

I know i just get super excited with cooking at times, but cooking for near and dear ones is such a delight I can not express in words. Yes, I loooooove cooking and this is what i made for dinner tonight

Butter Chicken with pranathe and sprouts salad…(Mouth’s watering….??? come o’er for lunch/dinner sometime

**This is specially dedicated to my bro who is in London now and missed it  He is actually extremely fond of my khana!

Cake-Bake (Honey-date and nutty :-)

I know a lot of friends and family members who have tasted my cooked food, actually appreciate my culinary skills. So I think I should believe them now and strengthen my belief too  . Bangalore trip was not just ghoomo-phiroing but cooking too. A cake made in a jiffy ….that supposedly turned out to be good…! Here’s the proof….for all you guys who can just relish through the pic…. 

 

Recipe only on request